IPL 2024 Final: KKR beat SRH by 8 wickets to lift trophy
This was not an big chase like the one in 2014. There was no tactical masterstroke like Manvinder Bisla’s from 2012. But the Kolkata Knight Riders’ IPL 2024 title win on Sunday would still taste like ‘mishti doi’ because it was their first title in ten years.
The shift was sparked by mentor Gautam Gambhir’s return to the Kolkata franchise. Gambhir was the captain when the Kolkata Knight Riders last won. This time, it was skipper Shreyas Iyer’s turn: he and Venkatesh Iyer (52*, 26b) remained undefeated in their eight-wicket win at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday, when Sunrisers Hyderabad were defeated tamely after registering the lowest first innings score in an IPL final- 113.
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Sunrisers’ batting fell like a deck of cards
SRH’s route to the playoffs and gung-ho approach were greatly aided by the efforts of their dynamic opening southpaws Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma – Travishek, as the stadium announcer yelled to get the neutral Chennai crowd moving.
Mitchell Starc took two balls to dismiss his compatriot Travis Head earlier this week in Qualifier 1. With perhaps the most eye-catching delivery of the competition, he smashed back Abhishek Sharma’s stumps on the fifth ball.
Vaibhav Arora also came to the party and delivered a classic red-ball dismissal, pitching on leg at pace from over the wicket and angling away from Head to catch the edge to the keeper.
Rahul Tripathi hung around for a while, but that wasn’t his day. The SRH camp constantly reminded their batters not to compromise on intent. However, the high risk cricket didn’t pay as the SRH were bundled out for a paltry 113 in 18.3 overs.
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KKR chase down target in 10.3 overs
Chasing a target of only 114, Sunil Narine fell early. However, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Venkatesh Iyer kept the run flow going.
The Kolkata Knight Riders were able to chase down the required total in just 10.3 overs with V Iyer scoring 52 not out and Captain Shreyas unbeaten on 6. Gurbaz scored 32 off 32 balls.
